Protest broke out in Imphal on Saturday over the arrest of an AT leader
Protests erupted in Imphal against the arrest of Arambai Tenggol leader Kanan Singh, accused by Kuki tribes of violence. Protesters burned tires and demanded his release while tensions rise due to a Kuki suspect's arrest in a police officer's murder case.
Protests broke out against the arrest of an Arambai Tenggol leader in Manipur's capital Imphal on Saturday night.
The protesters, mostly young people who are members of the Meitei volunteer group Arambai Tenggol (AT) which the Kuki tribes accuse of attacking their villages during the peak of the ethnic clashes, burnt tyres on the roads and shouted slogans against the arrest of AT leader Kanan Singh.
Night visuals from Imphal showed crowds demanding Kanan Singh to be freed. Residents posted on social media that they heard what sounded like gunfire in Imphal's Kwakeithel area.
Some protesters said the AT handed over illegal and looted weapons after Governor AK Bhalla's order, and are unarmed now on security guarantees given by the authorities. They also demanded the arrest of Kuki insurgents who attacked Meitei villages under the guise of "village volunteers".
Kanan Singh is the main suspect in the attack on the house of Additional Superintendent of Police Moirangthem Amit and the subsequent kidnapping of the senior police officer in February 2024. He served as a head constable attached to a commando unit of the state police before the force suspended him over "dereliction of duty" the same month.
Moreh Situation
The protest in Imphal comes amid agitation by the Kuki tribes over the arrest of a suspected Kuki National Army (KNA) insurgent from their community from the border town Moreh for allegedly killing a police officer with a sniper rifle in October 2023.
Kuki civil society groups alleged "arbitrary arrest" of Kamginthang Gangte, who is an accused in the murder case of Manipur Police officer Chingtham Anand, and called a shutdown in Tengnoupal district where Moreh is located.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is looking into several cases in Manipur, including against AT chief Korounganba Khuman.
Police sources said that with the state deeply divided on ethnic lines, investigators face resistance from both communities whenever they move in to arrest suspects as part of the formal process.
The AT maintains it is a cultural organisation that was compelled to take up arms as "village volunteers" due to ineffective law enforcement in the early days of the ethnic violence in May 2023; it says lack of law enforcement led to Meitei villages in the foothills coming under attacks from Kuki militants.
The Kuki tribes have alleged the AT is a "radical Meitei militia" that have been attacking Kuki villages. Kuki civil society groups have also alleged the AT launched attacks on their villages along the inter-district borders after the first wave of clashes in May 2023, which forced the Kuki tribes to take up arms and form "village volunteers". Many AT members have been named in cases of police armoury lootings.
